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Frequently asked questions

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About the scheme

Who is QLeave?

QLeave is the statutory authority administering the portable long service leave scheme for workers and employers in the community services industry in Queensland. The scheme started in 2021 and allows community services workers to accrue long service leave entitlements based on time in the industry, rather than time spent with an individual employer.

What is portable long service leave?

The community services industry experiences high rates of insecure employment and employee mobility, due to work that is reliant on funding. This means that workers often miss out on accessing paid leave and taking a well-earned break.

Under the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020, community services workers can accrue long service leave benefits based on their service across the industry, not the length of time with a single employer.

Who is a community services employer?

You’re an employer in the community services industry if:

  • your organisation is established, or has a purpose, to provide community services in Queensland
  • you're a labour hire provider that supplies an organisation with a community services worker in Queensland
  • you're an individual who is self-employed and provides community services in Queensland (registration optional)

An employer does not include the Commonwealth, State or Local Government.

Click here to find out if you need to register as an employer

How does the scheme work?

Since 1 January 2021, industry employers are required to register with QLeave. Once registered, employers need to submit quarterly returns and pay the levy. The collected levies are invested, and the accumulated funds are used to pay workers' long service leave claims.

Click here to register as an employer

How much does it cost?

There is no fee to register with QLeave. However, registered employers pay a levy based on the ordinary wages of their workers.

Over-award payments, weekend and public holiday penalty rates (when worked as ordinary hours), most allowances, sick leave, and annual leave are included in the definition of ‘ordinary wages’. Employers do not need to pay a levy on termination pay or leave loading.

Click here to read about ordinary wages

How is the levy rate determined?

The levy rate will commence at 1.35% of ordinary wages.

This rate is determined by an actuary who undertakes an investigation using specific formulae. This is based on an industry study that includes identification of the number of employers, the number of workers, ordinary wages, how many workers might be eligible to claim a long service leave entitlement, and other factors.

What personal details does QLeave keep about workers?

Under the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020, we must keep a record of:

  • the worker’s name, date of birth, address, mobile phone number and email address
  • their employer’s details
  • the number of days they have worked
  • the total ordinary wages they have been paid
  • the date they were registered with the scheme
  • their long service leave entitlement.

What information does QLeave keep about employers?

Under the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020, we must keep a record of:

  • an organisation’s name, trading name and ABN
  • an organisation’s address and principal place of business
  • an address of a registered office and ACN
  • any name under which the organisation has been operating in the community services industry
  • any location the organisation has been operating in the community services industry.

Who & what is covered

Who is eligible?

Your workers are covered by the scheme if they perform community services work. The scheme also covers those workers who support, supervise or manage the provision of community services.

This includes workers who:

  • are engaged as a full-time, part-time or casual employee
  • are engaged under a contract for service, including labour-hire workers
  • operate as a sole trader
  • work for both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations

It does not include:

  • Commonwealth, State and local government workers
  • workers engaged to perform work unrelated to the purpose of providing community services
  • workers in standalone childcare and early childhood education centres, kindergartens and school-based childcare services
  • workers providing childcare in a family daycare service
  • workers employed in a nursing home or retirement village operated by a standalone aged care provider or service.

Find out more about who needs to be registered with QLeave.

Are childcare workers eligible?

Childcare workers, including family daycare educators and educator assistants, are not covered by the scheme unless the childcare is being provided by a community services organisation in support of that organisation's programs. For example, workers providing childcare to directly and exclusively support persons affected by domestic or family violence, who are being assisted by a community services organisation through a DFV program, would be eligible.

Workers in a standalone childcare centre or family daycare service are not eligible.

Find out more

Employer obligations

How do I register my workers?

You can register your workers with QLeave when you complete your quarterly return.

You have three options when adding a new worker:

  • add registered worker - use this option to add a worker who is already registered with QLeave. You will need their QLeave worker number and date of birth to do this. We'll contact the worker to advise that you've added them.
  • add returning worker - use this option to add a worker you have previously employed. You can select the worker from the list of your past workers or search for them using their name or QLeave worker number. We'll contact the worker to advise that you've added them.
  • add new worker - use this option to add a brand new worker, who doesn't have a QLeave registration. We'll contact the worker to advise them that they're now registered with the scheme.

Your workers will have access to QLeave's secured online services so they can check their service is recorded correctly.

How do I pay the levy and report my workers' service?

Employers are required to complete an online quarterly return providing details of their workers’ service and wages in January, April, July and October each year. The return is a list of all eligible workers recorded by QLeave as being employed by your company. The time worked and wages received are then recorded against the worker’s QLeave registration and count towards their long service leave benefit.

The quarterly return is submitted online via the Community Services Industry Employer Portal. You can complete your return by entering data directly into the online portal, or by bulk importing a spreadsheet. Click here for instructions to complete the return online or here for instructions to complete the return via spreadsheet. Once the return is submitted an invoice will be raised based on the details provided.

You can pay the levy online with a credit card or using EFT.

Information about how to calculate, pay the levy and submit your employer return can be found here.

I have some employees who only work with us for a few days each quarter. Do I have to include them on my quarterly return?

You need to add service on your return for any eligible workers who have worked for five or more days in the quarter. If they were on the previous return, they need to be included even if they worked less than 5 days.

What are service credits and how many can workers earn?

If a worker performs any community services work during a return period, they will be credited with one day of service for each day in that period, regardless of whether they worked on that specific day.

For example:

  • If a return period lasts 92 days and a worker performs community services work only one day each week, they will still be credited with 92 days of service, even if they worked on only 13 days
  • If there are four return periods during a worker’s engagement, and they only work in three of those periods, they will receive credit for all days in those three period.

However, a worker cannot be credited for days that are not part of their engagement period.

For example:

  • If a worker finishes with an employer on a Monday and doesn’t start working with a new employer until the following Thursday, they won’t receive credit for the Tuesday and Wednesday in between.

An injured worker referred to in section 61(3)(b) will be credited as if they had been working in community services from the day of their injury until one of the following occurs:

  • six months after the injury
  • the worker engages in employment.

My current employees don’t expect to stay in the industry for an extended period so won’t accrue a long service leave entitlement. Do I have to register them with QLeave?

Yes. You are required to pay the 1.35% levy on your workers’ ordinary wages, even if those workers believe they may not stay in the industry long enough to benefit. Because of the portability of the scheme, scheme participants can have breaks from working in the industry of up to four years without having their registration cancelled.

Do I get the levy payments back if a worker moves to another employer or permanently leaves the industry?

No. The purpose of the scheme is that it enables workers to change employers without losing their long service leave entitlements. QLeave holds and invests the collected levies so they are able to be paid to workers when they have accrued a long service leave benefit.

How do I calculate a worker's annual rate of pay when completing my return?

To calculate the annual rate of pay, you’ll need to identify the industrial instrument (including equal remuneration rates, if any) that applies to your worker’s classification level and pay point. Please note, if no industrial instrument applies to your worker, you must calculate the annual rate of pay based on the 'Social and community services employee level 4—pay point 4’ under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010.  Click here to read more about calculating the annual rate of pay.

Claim back long service leave payments

Can I claim back long service leave payments that I made to my worker?

Yes. If you pay a worker's long service leave, under their industrial instrument, you can claim reimbursement for long service you have recorded with QLeave after January 2021.

We calculate the payment in accordance with the legislation and base it on the wages you’ve declared for the worker. You must apply for reimbursement within three months of the date you paid leave to the worker. Click here to read more about making a claim.

Why wasn't I reimbursed the full amount that I paid to my worker?

When you pay long service leave to a worker, you're paying them under their industrial instrument. This payment may include allowances that aren't included in the calculation for claims paid under the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020.

Additionally, we can only reimburse you for the service your worker has recorded with QLeave since the scheme started. So, even if the worker started with you before 1 January 2021, we won't reimburse you for their pre-2021 service.

Scenarios for employers

Community service provider

My organisation provides home and community care services. We need to register as an employer as we were established to provide community services.

We add our workers who perform community services work, and those who support, supervise, or manage the provision of community services.

Multi-service provider

My organisation provides home care, residential aged care, and disability support services. We need to register as an employer as at least one of our purposes is providing community services and we are not a standalone aged care facility.

We add our workers who perform community services work, and those who support, supervise, or manage the provision of community services.

For more information, see Schedule 1 of the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020.

Allied health and disability support

My organisation provides allied health services to the disability support sector. We need to register as an employer as one of our purposes is providing community services.

We add our workers who perform community services work, and those who support, supervise, or manage the provision of community services. For more information, see Schedule 1 of the Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020.